


Moonlight and the Man

by junko



Series: Chasing Demons [51]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-24
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 09:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/734240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji wakes up to an irritated Byakuya.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonlight and the Man

Renji hadn’t meant to drift off right away, but he must have because he woke up to the irritated noises of Byakuya trying to shift him. Pretending not to hear him muttering, “hot, heavy, stupid baboon,” Renji let him struggle for a moment or two. Then, he captured Byakuya’s lips in a quick, surprise kiss and then deftly rolled over to give him plenty of room.

“How long have you been awake?” Byakuya asked accusingly, as he pulled at covers and rearranged pillows.

“Who says I’m awake?” Renji grumbled into his side of the bed, squeezing his eyes shut as though in demonstration. But when the mattress creaked as Byakuya moved to get out of it, Renji turned and sat up. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and stifled a yawn, “You going somewhere?”

“I’m filthy. I need a bath.”

Filthy? He was gorgeous. Moonlight, Renji decided, was made for Byakuya Kuchiki. The silvery light of it clung to the contours of his pale, naked skin making it glow like an opal or a fine, cultured pearl. The darkness turned his hair to silky shadows. Renji adored how rumpled it was, free of the kenseikan and still stuck in places to neck and cheeks. Add to that the rare glimpse of a fully exposed body and the smell of their sex filling the room, and Renji was hungry and aching to touch him again.

But Byakuya was already moving to cover himself.

Renji watched, with a touch of sadness, as a dark indigo kimono wrapped and hid away all the traces of the rare beauty that was Byakuya bare, open, and… vulnerable. Renji stared at him trying to remember if he’d dreamed the unrestrained sex. No, the bed stunk of it. So, how had it even happened? What miracle had occurred to make Byakuya receptive to… all that? And were they really going to leave it like this? With Byakuya slinking off to be alone, clearly irritated and feeling _dirty_..?

“Wait,” Renji said, untangling from the sheets. “I’ll go with you. A long soak in the hot springs sounds great. I’ll scrub your back for you.”

Byakuya turned his head slightly in Renji’s direction, his eyes on the floor. For a moment Renji held his breath, expecting to be denied—maybe even told he’d done too much already, that he should leave and go far, far away and never dare touch anyone ever again--

But, instead, a soft, fond smile curled the edges of Byakuya’s thin lips, “I hadn’t planned on going all the way to the onsen. But, as always, you entice me to mischief.”

#

They hung their robes on the pegs outside, in the sheltered alcove that housed a private bath and shower just outside the master’s entrance to the hot springs. The early morning air was chilled with the beginning of autumn and brought goose bumps to Renji’s skin. Billows of steam came off the water when Byakuya turned it on. The sudden noise surprised a group of huddling rock doves, which burst into flight. Circling back around, they returned to settle near the warm vent of the onsen’s roof with muttering, admonishing coos.

Despite the pre-dawn darkness, Renji found the soap in one of the cubbyholes by the onsen’s wall. Byakuya was already moving to get under the shower, but Renji hung back, uncertain. 

Even though Byakuya had held his hand during their dash across the dew-speckled garden path, Renji was waiting for the hammer to fall—for Byakuya to close up and shut down. He was afraid of asking for too much again, too soon. So he jerked his head in the direction of the public showers inside, “You know, if you want some alone time, I could--“

“What are you talking about, Renji? Did you invite yourself along only to leave me?” Byakuya turned, water sluicing down his body in rivulets. Water, moonlight and naked Byakuya were a heady combination. Renji could see his own breath coming in cloudy puffs that only increased when Byakuya added, “What about this back scrubbing I was promised?”

“Oh. Yeah, sorry, right,” Renji babbled like an idiot with a grin that was probably far too eager, too grateful. But twice in one night? Getting to put his hands on naked Byakuya once was pretty fucking phenomenal, but now naked, _wet_ Byakuya…? Dear gods! But as excited as he was by the prospect, Renji didn’t want to overdo it and have it all backfire or blow up, “I mean… if you’re sure?”

Byakuya presented his back as though to indicate he was ready.

Soaping up his hands, Renji stepped under the spray. Tentatively, he ran his slippery hands over shoulders and down strong arms. Renji marveled, as he’d done from the start, at the power concealed under such a lithe, slender form. It was impossible for him not to admire this man, who seemed to have it all: grace, beauty, skill and intellect.

Moving his hands back up to Byakuya’s shoulders, Renji let his palms squeeze slightly, checking for tension—a hint about how Byakuya was feeling about earlier. There was some tightness, so Renji took some time to rub it out. 

Letting out a sigh, Byakuya seemed to relax into Renji’s massage. “That’s very nice,” he admitted.

Feeling muscles pop and creak under his palms, Renji murmured, “Just let me know if it’s too hard.”

“I wouldn’t mind it a little… rougher.”

Renji sucked in a breath. Were they still talking about the back rub? He put a little strength into the next squeeze. “Uh, you mean like this?”

Byakuya made a very happy sound that encouraged Renji to rub vigorously up and down Byakuya’s back and shoulders. As he focused on working out any tightness or stiffness he found, Renji frowned. 

Months ago, before the demon and the alley, Byakuya had seemed to enjoy the idea of Renji’s rougher side. It had been their big problem then, in fact. There hadn’t been as much restraining, but more… assumptions about Renji’s nature. Byakuya seemed to want an Inuzuri bad boy that Renji wasn’t entirely sure he was… well, he knew he had it in him, but he also knew it was much darker than was safe to play with. 

Which Byakuya learned the hard way.

And Renji had been paying for ever since.

But, so… did this mean that Byakuya asking for a little of that old dynamic back? And what had that even been like? Renji tried to remember. It seemed to him that there’d been a little control play followed by a rough release. Kido and other restraints, yes, but with more growling on his part... there had even been a shower wall at the Hanami with Byakuya begging for it.

Hmmm, that wouldn’t be so bad. 

The tying down used to be… annoying and occasionally humiliating—though, the upside had been mind-blowing sex. It also didn’t used to have to happen every time. It wasn’t a requirement at the start, more like a habit… more like something Byakuya was just _into _because he liked watching the way it made Renji squirm and snarl and beg.__

If all the restraint got rewarded with a few more nights like last night, Renji might start to feel like things were more tit-for-tat, as it were… more fair. Especially if the undertone of distrust went away—if Renji could feel like he wasn’t being held down because Byakuya was scared or angry at the demon, but because it was… well, his thing, that would be a whole lot better. Hell, maybe sex could even be fun again. Ah, that wasn’t fair. It was always fun, but maybe it could be a little less _fraught_ and complicated.

Now… how to tell Byakuya that?

Maybe he couldn’t tonight. 

Maybe tonight was about getting through without fucking anything up, about showing by example that he could be trusted with these unguarded moments. So, even though Renji desperately wanted to explore more of Byakuya’s body, he only allowed himself to go where he’d been explicitly invited. When Byakuya’s back was fully massaged and soaped, he removed his hands.

“There,” Renji said, stepping away, as though to admire his handiwork. “That’s good.”

To Renji’s utter surprise, Byakuya turned around. Eyes closed to the splash of the water, dark hair plastered wetly against his cheeks and neck, he said languidly, “Hmmm, yes, very good. How about the rest now?”

Despite himself, a groan of pleasure escaped Renji’s lips. But, he would have happily embarrassed himself a whole lot more. In fact, Renji could have dropped to his knees right there and kissed Byakuya’s feet, like some kind of joyful, reverse-alley moment. 

Huh.

Maybe he _should_.

Spontaneously, Renji let his knees fold. Then he dipped his head to the tiles and proceeded to kiss Byakuya’s feet. The water showered down on him, but he closed his eyes and kissed and licked and lapped like some kind of love-starved puppy. He should probably be horrified with himself, but, fuck it—maybe this was what they needed. Renji enjoyed it, anyway. He could feel himself smiling at the silly sincerity of it all.

Thus, he was surprised when Byakuya quickly crouched down and grabbed his face, pulling him up, stopping him, “Renji! What are you doing?”

“I’m kissing your feet,” he explained, blinking away the water and hair from his eyes. “Like the alley… only this time because I _want_ to.”

Byakuya stared at him for a long moment, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with shock. They searched each other’s gaze for a long moment, and then, all of a sudden, Byakuya kissed him, hard and passionate. In fact, he knocked them both over—pushing Renji back until his shoulders slapped into the onsen’s wall and his butt was pushed up hard against the wooden covering of the sunken tub. Byakuya’s body sprawled between his open legs, pressing against him, warm and slick and heavy. 

After catching his breath, Renji wrapped his arms around Byakuya and kissed back. He pushed Byakuya’s tongue out of his mouth. Then, he invaded Byakuya’s, sucking in the taste of him, forcing Byakuya to follow his lead.

Then, for good measure, he growled.

On top of him, Renji could almost feel Byakuya melt a little with a shiver of pleasure. So… he did want this… at least a little. But how the hell was Renji supposed to know when it was too much?

Renji eased up on the kiss, and let his fingers gently slide down the length of Byakuya’s spine. He couldn’t pull away entirely from the kiss because Byakuya was bearing down on him. Relaxing into it, Renji allowed himself to enjoy the explorations of lips and tongue and teeth. Hands softly stroked wet, cooling skin… and Renji tried to fill his reiatsu with all his feelings of love and contentment and… joy.

These were the moments Renji used to love. He used to adore getting lost in the sensations of this man: the way he tasted (tonight of something bittersweet and rich, like chocolate), the way he smelled (lightly scented minty soap), the sounds he made (an almost inaudible murmur at the back of his throat) and the way his fingers gripped Renji’s neck and hair urgently. 

When Byakuya finally came up for air, Renji’s lips were buzzing. His back was starting to ache from their cramped position, half-on the floor, half up against the wall, but he wasn’t going to complain. 

Byakuya did, however. “I’m getting cold.”

Renji laughed. “I hear there’s a hot springs around here somewhere.”

“But then I have to get up,” Byakuya said with a little sigh.

“Yeah,” Renji agreed. Running his fingers through Byakuya’s wet hair, Renji was amazed that somehow the locks weren’t tangled in the least. “But, my back is going to break soon if we don’t.”

Byakuya suddenly seemed to realize how much weight he had pressed into Renji. He lifted himself off quickly, apologetically, but when their bodies separated and the cold air came between them Renji nearly grabbed him to pull him back. Instead, he let out a sad little whine. 

"That was nice,” Renji said, pulling himself to his feet as Byakuya turned off the shower. “This was all… really nice.”

Byakuya took a key off a peg and unlocked the master entrance. “Yes, it was. Maybe Rukia’s right. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.”

“Rukia?”

Moist, hot air rushed out when Byakuya pulled open the door to the hot springs. “Didn’t Eishirō tell you? We went out to dinner together.”

Renji followed Byakuya inside. The air had an almost tangy taste from the light saltiness and the minerals in the water. In the still emptiness of the morning, Renji could hear the soft gurgling sounds of the natural spring that fed the onsen. The interior was darker than outside until Byakuya slid apart the Fuji mountain painted fusuma and another shoji screen door just beyond it, opening the pool to a view of the gardens. The lanterns along the pathway let in a soft glow and sky had lightened to a deep purple. The sleepy sound of crickets chirping in the bush clover drifted in. Renji sighed as he lowered himself into the hot water. 

“Dinner out?” Renji teased, as Byakuya slipped into the pool opposite him. “You really were painting the town red last night.”

“I was,” Byakuya agreed lightly. Dipping his head under the water for a moment, he shook his hair out. “We had the full fifteen courses. Plus, the chef insisted on an extra dessert specially made for Rukia and me. The innkeeper is hoping to earn the Kuchiki seal.”

Fifteen course meal? Renji couldn’t even imagine, “The Kuchiki Seal? What’s that?”

Byakuya waved it off as unimportant, but he explained, “Kuchiki are allowed to grant several ‘royal warrants of appointment’ on behalf of the Soul King to businesses that are of particular service to us. I’ve never exercised my right to award any, though I’ve maintained several of my grandfather’s.” 

Renji nodded like he understood, but the whole thing was kind of beyond him. He yawned, stretching out until he felt muscles pop. “So you going to give it to them? Was the food any good?”

“Very,” Byakuya nodded. “I plan to consider their application seriously. Provided everything is in order, I may just. Of course, I’ll need to go again to be certain of the quality. Perhaps you’d join me?”

Renji gave him a skeptical look, stretching his arms on the lip of the pool to cool off a little. “You think it’s my kind of place?”

“I don’t see why not,” Byakuya insisted. 

Renji shrugged, “Could be fun. Fifteen courses, huh? That’s a lot of food.”

“It isn’t as much as you’d think,” Byakuya said. “A lot of it is… well, artistry, I suppose. I think that’s why I’d like your opinion of it. I may be blind to some of the flaws, and your sense of smell is extraordinarily keen.”

Renji laughed. “You know I used to eat garbage, right? I don’t exactly have what you’d call a ‘discerning palate.’”

Byakuya pursed his lips, “Still. We could make a reservation for the night before you leave for assignment. It would make a good send off.”

Renji would rather have beers with the guys, but Byakuya was making a date for them… inside the Seireitei. That was kind of a big deal. “Yeah, okay. I mean, sure, why not?”

With a shake of his head, Byakuya sighed like he got the sense his efforts would be wasted on Renji. “How did things go on your first day back?”

“Shitty,” Renji said, running his fingers through the knots in his hair. “Kinjo is going to be a real problem. That one has a serious mouth on him. You wouldn’t believe the crap he spews.”

“He went out of his way to be rude to you… about us?”

Renji sighed. He should probably tell Byakuya about his somewhat unauthorized excursion. “Nah, I took him with me when I delivered the _tsuka ito_ to Fujimoto’s family. That didn’t go so great either. We had a bit of trouble with the locals. There’s some nasty rumors going around West Second about shinigami.” Byakuya straightened, looking concerned. Renji raised his hands, “I already sent Kinjo to tell Soi Fon’s people about it. All I can say is that it better not be true. It’s our people that patrol the western districts.”

“And the Seventh and the Ninth,” Byakuya reminded him. 

Nine? Tōsen. Fuck. _Of course._ Renji knew they’d find Aizen’s fingers in this somehow. But, he shook his head, “Not Hisagi, though. He’d never let anything like that happen.”

“What kind of rumor are we talking about?” Byakuya asked. He stood up and got out of the water to cool off. 

“Rape,” Renji said plainly, turning his head to watch as Byakuya dipped a pitcher into the cool water pool and poured it over himself. “At least that’s what the sister’s friend implied. I’m not sure how else you’d take ‘our women aren’t safe with you lot.’ Especially since the guy was ready to throw himself on Kinjo’s sword without a second thought.”

“It disturbs me to find one of Aizen’s allies in charge of the same area,” Byakuya said. Finding a towel in the cubby, he rubbed his face and then came to sit by the lip of the pool. He dangled his feet into the water, “But it gives me a little comfort that the rumors may turn out to be lies or illusion rather than truth.”

“Yeah,” Renji agreed, though he wasn’t sure how illusion would be much better. It was hard to unsee something you were sure you saw, even once you knew it was faked. He should know. Plus, wasn’t it scarier to find out that among the shinigamis’ superpowers there was a one that could make you see and possibly do anything through trickery?

“Aren’t you overheated, Renji?” Byakuya asked.

He smiled proudly, “Nah, I’m good for a while yet.”

Byakuya shook his head fondly. Standing up again, he moved over to kneel behind Renji. Trying to twist to see what Byakuya was doing, a firm hand turn his head back around. A comb appeared in front of his face, as Byakuya explained, “I’m going to attempt to untangle your hair. Every once in awhile, the challenge of it seizes me and I find I’m unable to resist, even though I know I’m doomed to failure.”

Renji snorted a laugh, though he was weirdly touched by the near-poetic sentiment of it. As the comb snatched and pulled, Renji let his eyes close and the heat of the hot springs soak deeply into his bones.

“Tōsen is a riddle to me,” Byakuya said as he concentrated on a particularly tough snarl. “Do you know much about him? His lieutenant is a friend of yours, is he not? Ah, yes,” Byakuya added suddenly, the comb pushing through sharp enough to make Renji wince, “How could I forget? The school teacher fantasy: Shūhei Hisagi. My rival.”

“Whoa, no, you have no rivals! None,” Renji said quickly. “Anyway, Shūhei is mostly straight. He’s got that thing for Matsumoto, remember?”

The comb slashed through again, “Don’t think I didn’t notice the use of the term ‘mostly.’”

Thing was, drunk enough, Shūhei could be talked into a dark alley blowjob or sloppy messing around. But that was true for a surprising number of people, and Renji normally wouldn’t take advantage… except for the hotness factor. Shū was such a fucking hottie. Renji could feel his face reddening from more than just the steam of the hot springs, so he said, “Can we focus on Tōsen or, I don’t know, the problems in the West Second?”

“We should save business for the office,” Byakuya said. “I think I’d rather discuss your attraction to this man you feel close enough to that you refer to him by a first name. Is this an unrequited thing? You talk as though it might be.”

Renji sighed. Byakuya’s jealousy was always so surprising when it came up like this. “Look, I thought I already explained this. Shūhei was the sexy upperclassman who had all the stuff I wanted: a position in the Guard, a sweet zanpakutō, and all that shit. He was probably my first serious crush, but it never really went anywhere. Because, honestly, I kind of lost interest when I found out how he feels about Kazeshini, you know?”

“Oh? And how’s that?”

“He hates him as far as I can figure. Won’t call him out unless there’s no other option,” Renji said, still struggling with the knowledge that someone he admired had such a broken relationship with his own soul. “Then he says such horrible things about Kazeshini. It makes me sad. And there’s no talking to him about it. I found that out the hard way.”

“Renji!” Byakuya’s tone was horrified. The comb pulled away with another painful drag, “A man’s relationship with his zanpakutō is highly personal—“

Renji cut Byakuya off, “Yeah, that’s what he told me, but with more ‘fuck you’s.” Renji’s toes were starting to prune. Any longer in this heat and he was going to lose his ability to reproduce. So he stood up and moved towards the steps, “So, yeah, you don’t got to worry about me running off with Shū. He’s really fine to look at and all, but I couldn’t love a guy like that. Never.”

Byakuya watched him as he cooled himself off with several pitchers of cool water from the second pool. “I suppose you have opinions about Senbonzakura.”

Renji caught Byakuya’s eye. The sun had come up enough that the room filled with the soft light of dawn. “I do,” he admitted, “But none of them bad. How could I? I’ve seen how close you are. I’ve heard their songs.” Both sealed and in the heat of battle. Renji would never forget the sound of their fury as they cut him. He shook off that thought with effort, and continued, “Anyway, I know you’re never without them in your head and your heart. You’d never curse them or deny them. Besides, you already achieved bankai. Shūhei never will.”

With a nod, Byakuya seemed to accept that. “If you feel so strongly about all this, how is it you could stand to work so closely with Zaraki? You respected your former captain, did you not?”

“I did. I _do_ ,” Renji said, wrapping a towel around his waist. “Neither of them bastards have a name, and, anyway, it’s obvious Kenpachi is closer to his zanpakutō than even he realizes. Have you looked at it? It don’t look like no asauchi to me. It’s released--so that means that somewhere, deep inside, Kenpachi already called it. Having seen him fight, I’m pretty sure that ain’t just shikai he’s walking around with neither.”

Byakuya stood up slowly. “Are you saying you think Kenpachi Zaraki is in bankai state all the time?”

“Have you felt his spiritual pressure? If there’s an up from there we’re all seriously fucked.”

Byakuya was silent for a long time. Then, he looked out into the garden with a pensive expression. “Indeed.”

#

By the time they closed up the sento and walked back to the estate, Renji was almost chilled again. The hot tea Eishirō had waiting for them felt good in his hands. He and Byakuya settled back in the master suite. The fire pit had been stoked, but the screen doors were open to the balcony and a view of the cherry orchards.

Breakfast was set out for them already. Renji checked under the baskets to see if things were as good as they smelled. Miki must’ve been jealous that Byakuya went elsewhere last night, because she pulled out all the stops this morning. There was rice as usual, but the even the miso soup had been fancied up with the addition of clams, their pretty shells steamed open. The fish was salt-broiled mackerel with some kind of pickled plum sauce that was making Renji’s mouth water, just looking at it. “Wow,” Renji said, setting some fish on Byakuya’s plate, as Byakuya ladled out soup for them. “You should go out more.”

“Apparently so,” Byakuya laughed lightly. When all the food was divvied up and he had said a little ‘thank you’ over it, Byakuya sipped his tea thoughtfully before asking, “How is it you’ve become so… attuned to other people’s zanpakutō?”

Renji could sense the slight disapproval Byakuya tried to keep out of his tone, so he shrugged, “Eh, where else did I pick up all my bad habits? The Eleventh.”

Byakuya frowned. “I’m not sure I understand the connection.”

“Look, none of those guys went to Academy,” Renji explained around a mouthful of the fish. “They didn’t know any better. And what was I supposed to do? Not tell the guy who was having crazy-ass, obsessive dreams he maybe wasn’t going nuts, but that his zanpakutō might be trying to talk to him?” Renji could see by the arch in Byakuya’s eyebrow that was _exactly_ what he expected. So, Renji lifted his shoulder again. “It was a different culture, okay? EVERY-body talked about it, out-loud, over breakfast, while drunk, while drunk at breakfast…. No one knew it was gauche to tell everyone how awesome their inner world was and ask how it compared to yours.”

Byakuya sucked in a horrified breath, nearly choking on his soup. “You shared such intimate details?”

“All I’ll say is that I know way more than I ever wanted to about the dark, twisted underbelly of Ikkaku’s soul,” Renji said, trying to decide if the addition of an actual pickled plum would be too much with the fish. He decided Miki probably knew what she was doing, so he went for it--mmm, salty tart goodness! Good call. “But, you know, I can’t say it didn’t help me understand myself a little better. I know you’re grossed out, but I think it made us all stronger. We knew exactly who we were fighting with.”

Plus, sometimes it was helpful to talk things out—think about how yours was different and the same from someone else’s--but he knew better than to say that to Byakuya, who was looking pretty green already.

“It’s barbaric,” Byakuya said with a shudder.

“Yeah,” Renji agreed, helping himself to a bit more rice. When Byakuya looked surprised at his assent, Renji clarified, “Don’t you figure? Grunting cavemen with zanpakutō—that’s probably how they did it, right? You know, before the Academy and stuff.”

“Yes, but even before Academy there were masters and apprentices, an intimacy of two--not a whole gaggle of... over-sharing brutes.”

“Murder,” Renji corrected. “Like crows, not geese.”

Byakuya look startled and then laughed. “Yes, you’re right of course. The Eleventh travels as a ‘murder.’"

“Damn straight.”

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, I'm not entirely convinced Renji is right about his assumptions about Zaraki (since the current storyline does seem to imply there is an 'up.') However, it's fun to think about and he nicely lays out some of my own theories, which I'm anxious to see either borne out or disproved.
> 
> Also, as I told my amazing beta reader Josey (cestus), Renji also explains why I have such a hard time writing RenShuu; I tend to see them as polar opposites when it comes to zanpakuto relationships and that bounces me out every time. She promised to help me get over that, though. ;-)


End file.
